Sixth World: Crossroads

Gifts of the City

4

MAY/15

The City was beautiful once, if you believe the trids. Green trees, white sands, glimmering ‘scrappers. Weather ain’t great though. The rainy season is tough; 7 months a year it rains more often than not. It was raining that day. The man’s commlink was giving the telltale yellow blink of a message. A few months ago, during the dry season the man had landed at the port of Panama City from Chicago and slipped past a corporate cop at customs. The message was from Pin. Fable had screwed Pin over a couple months ago on a deal; not that Pin was aware. So far, the only person who knew, an Ork chica with a thing for explosives hadn’t said anything. Maybe she didn’t even realize what she knew. Regardless, Pin had a job for Fable, something about a concert and the ever elusive Mr. Johnson. A quick ping to Checkmate and Zoetrope and the pandilla was off to meet with Pin. Fable was a little surprised Checkmate was willing to make a move so soon after the business with Renraku, but everyone needs a cred, and his were running low too. He knew that position. Not that he’d set her up in a very nice part of town. Not that any of them could afford the nice part of town. But she’d helped him out with the customs thing a ways back. Chicago seemed so long ago now. You know, the great thing about the families is you do your time quiet, and when you walk you can take your out. And that’s what Fable did.

Well, that’s what he let Nex think. This sort of thing with Mr. Johnson, well, it was exactly the sort of thing that would violate his Non-compete clause with the Mafia Capo. But what Nex didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

The three ’runners met with Pin and picked up the sparse info he had. Hours later they passed through security at the hastily build Amphitheater downtown and into their box. A couple words with Namika outside the door meant the Ork was the first to speak with Mr. Johnson, and it seemed to rattle him a bit. But a bit of information on Namika was worth it. And it always amused Fable to see the suits uncomfortable.

The deal was this. Someone at The Horizon Group was looking for a team to smear someone. The first run was a test, the crew messed up a local corporate-kiddie watering hole and they got to run in the big race. At a guess, Horizon wasn’t much happy with Maria "Mercurial” Moreno being signed with Aztechnology, and the reporter Hiroshi Saito was fishing on a similar line.

The Lost Wages wasn’t much of a bar. Run by Billy Boiles it catered to those too young to be smart enough to avoid it, and those too old to find a new bar. The plan was to push a dual message, drugs and cops, to clear the place out, but when that cabrón put his hand on Fable’s face things changed. A quick beating and the kid lay bleeding on the doorstep when the Bombas rolled up. The bar was already smoking up from the grenades in the bathroom, and playing the cops ran the drek-licking gang out of there right quick.

A few more grenades, and a couple anti-corporate slogans painted on the windows and the Lost Wages was rightfully vandalized.